The goal of education isn’t just to set students up for a great career, but to help them form wisdom and to become well-rounded participants in society. As John Stuart Mill put it, “men are men before they are lawyers… If you make them capable and sensible men, they will make themselves capable and sensible lawyers.”

So how does all this this humanising happen? According to Altum Academy, much of it will be accomplished through reading texts that create universes of imagination and thought. The books the students read depict life in its glory and tragedy. As they read more broadly, the students uproot their own quick assumptions and begin to examine what is good, true and beautiful.

On their journey, they’ll encounter enduring questions. How would they respond to Hamlet’s wrestle over justice and retribution? What about the choice between long life and eternal glory, as faced by Achilles, in the Iliad?

Andrew Kern notes,

“The quality of your life depends upon the quality of the questions you ask.”

The classics teach us to ask better ones.

Classics are portals: they transport the reader into different places and eras; growing them in perspective and empathy. How does our social structure compare to that of Shakespeare (Elizabethan), Austen (Georgian) or Dickens (Victorian)? To the Altum student, history comes alive through narrative—Gone with the Wind, A Tale of Two Cities, War and Peace. They begin to connect dates with people and as literature provides a gateway to the past, the build perspective.

Reading classics elevates vocabulary, refines a student’s writing style and strengthens critical thought. Older prose and poetry require careful attention, so students learn to read closely and write persuasively. Works like Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Hamlet are masterclasses in rhetoric, structure and psychological insight.

Though not a religious school, Altum Classical Academy is founded on Christian principals. The idea of “taking every thought captive” equips students to discern truth, refute error and empathise with people who disagree with them.

This sort of education inevitably leads to the graduation of wise, thoughtful, well-rounded young people, who see the beauty in life and are motivated to live it to the full. Classic literature has stood the test of time for a reason and it’s been proven that a classical education will likewise endure.

If you’d like to take a detailed look at the Altum Classical Academy reading list, click below.

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